Automatic controlling device for aeroplanes.



G. E. DARROW. AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR A-EROPLANES. APPLICATION FILED APRJO. 1910.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

JEEP-l.

G. E. DARROW.

AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR AEROPLAN ES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.20,1910.

1,007,926, Patented Nov. '7, 1911 I1g.E

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

awvwtoz thefollowing is a specification.

liable and efficient in use and automatic in in the claims appended hereto.

'vention; Fig, 2 is a central transverse secsrArEs-rATnnr omca i To all whom 'it may concern:

, Be it known that I, CLARENCE EDA-snow, a citizen 'ofthe United States, residing at Fairbury, in the county of Jefferson and State ofNebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Controlling Devices for Aeroplanes, of which This invention relates to flyingmachines of the heavier-than-air type and relates more particularly to means for aut matically maintaining the balance of the ying machines. I

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and .simplify the constructionand operation of machines of this charac-. ter so as to be cou'iparativelysimple and inexpensive to manufacture, thoroughly remaintaining the horizontal balance of-the machine. I

Another object of the invention is to provide for the lateral stabilizing of the flying machine by vanes at the ends of the main plane or planes to swing oppositely on horizontal axes whenever the air-ship tends to tilt, the said vanes being connected with a pendulum passenger basket or car, which as a limited swinging movement with re-' spect to the body of the machine.

With these objects in View, and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described ereinafter and set forth with particularity In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the. invention; Figure l is a perspective view of the air-' ship constructei"l in accordance with the intion thereof. Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine showing the stabilizing planes orauxiliary planes in operation.

Similar reference characters are employedto designate corresponding parts through out the several views.

In the present instance, I have illustrated the invention as applied to a bi-plane machine, but it is not necessarily limited to this type. V Referring-to the drawing, A designates the framework of the machine which supports upper and lower main planes land I 2, there eing any desired form of propel- Specification or Letters Patent. 'Application tiled Aprn2o; 19m; Serial No. 656481.

cranniicn E. na'nnow, or rernntra'x, 'nnrn asxa. AUromArIceonrnomme DE Ion For; AERorLANns.

ling and steering device (not shown). At t the ends of the main plane 1 .are auxiliar or stabilizing planes or vanes'3; which he their-front ends, secured to rock shafts i journaled' in bearings Son the bars of the upper main frame. The inner ends of these rock shafts are provided with miter gears orpinioiis 6 that me'sh'at diametrically oppositepoin'ts with a gear wheel 7 that is arranged at the :frontof the machine and secured to'a horizontal shaft -8 disposed in the transversevertical center plane of the machinery By this'gearing device, the vanes 3 are adapted to simultaneously more an opposite directions, one swinging upwardly from its normal position, and the other downwardly seas to effect a balancing of the machine when there is a tendency to tilt. The movement 'of the vanes 3 is controlled automatically by a, pendulum device 0, which, inthe resent instance, consists of the passenger basket or car 9 that is dis- [matted NOVi a, flair.

posed between the two planes and suspendi ed from the shaft 8 by rods 10 or equivalent devices rigidly secured to the shaft 8 so that as the basket sways with respect to the main planes it will cause the gear 7 to turn and vthus throwthe auxiliary planes respectively above and below the upper main plane, the angle of incidence of the wind on the auxiliary vanes being controlled by the extent to which the machine tends to tilt. The relative swinging movement between the car and frame of the machine is limited by the suspending rods 10 working in slots 11 in the frame-work of the lower plane 2, the said rods extending downwardly below the car and into the said slots. In the car may be arranged seats 1'. for the passengers, which are pivotally mounted at 13 on supporting brackets 14: so that in'ascending or descending, the seats can be maintained horizontally;

From the foregoing description takcn in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of tl xmeth'odcf operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the a1 1 to which the invention relates, and while I have descrihed the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device which I now consider to the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the Clillhlw of a main plane, a longitudinal shaft jour What I claim as new and desire to secure naled on the main plane, a gearcarried by said shaft, transversely extending shafts mounted upon the wingsof the main plane and extending beyond the ends thereof, pinions upon the inner ends jof said transverse shafts meshing with sai gear, oppositelymovable, vertically swinging stabilizing planes upon the extended ends-of the transverse shaft, rods fixed to and depending from the longitudinal shaft, means for guiding and sustaining the lower ends of said rods, said .guidmg and sustaining slots-in the lowerplane, pinions upon the means serving to limit the lateral tilting motion of the machine relative to said rods, and a passenger car carried by the rods to operate with its load weight as a pendulum for maintaining the rods and longitudinal I shaft in a fixed position and establishing relative motion between the"- same and. the

transverse shafts .through the described gearing when the machine tilts laterally, whereby the stabilizing tomatical/ly adjusted.

- of su erposed p anes, said planes being proplanes will be au- 2. In a flyin machine, the combination v 1d with do slots extending int e direction of nth thereo'f,-a longitudinal shaft journals upon the upper iplane, a gear wheel mounted u on said sha transverse'shafts journale upon'the wings of the upper plane and extending .at their movable stabilizers mounted upon the extended "end of the transverse shafts, rods fixed to-the longitudinal shaft and depend- .ing therefrom and movable in the slots in the planes, guide rollers u on the lower ends 'of said rods engaging the walls of the inner ends ,of the' transverse shafts meshing with the gear. on; the longitudinal shaft,

mounted thereonbetween the main planes.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature in presence o two witnesse's. Y

CLARENCE E.. DARROW. Witnessest- (1- H; DENN'EY-Q copies of this patent may be obtained tor five cents each, byaddreuing the Commissioner of Patents,

1 Wash ington,D. O." a f outer ends' beyond saidplane', vertically and a car. disposed between the rods and 

